The zoning, variance, or other land use petition process begins when the petitioner files the request in the Current Planning office, in Room 1821, City -County Building. If you can read Adobe PDF files, the links below will take you to charts which show the major steps that occur for each type of land use petition. Also given are typical minimum timelines. A number of factors can, and often do, increase the amount of time required to complete the petition process. If you have questions about the process for a land use petition that has not yet been filed, call our main desk, or email us.

If you have questions about an already-filed land use petition, you should call the staff planner assigned to the petition. That information is provided to you in the Legal Notice of Public Hearing.

If you are considering a change of use, changes to your site, new development, or the subdivision of land, and you think a land use petition might be filed, you may want to contact the Current Planning staff before filing your petition.

This can be advantageous, because, if you request a pre-application review, staff will informally review your proposal prior to filing.

Staff will work with you in determining the information needed for the pre-application review. Typically staff will then give you recommendations on how to proceed, and/or may also indicate whether staff would support your proposal.

If you believe pre-application review would be of assistance to you, call our main desk, or email us.

Other Inquiries

The current planning staff provides a Planner-on-Call service to answer miscellaneous zoning-related questions. For instance, you may have questions about the zoning district in which you are located, or the petitions process. Call our main desk, or email us. Your inquiry will be forwarded to the Planner-on-Call.

If your inquiry is about a land use petition that has already been filed, do not ask for the Planner-on-Call. Instead, call the staff planner assigned to the petition. That information is provided to you in the Legal Notice of Public Hearing which you have received.

Receipt of New Petitions

Land use petitionscan be filed at the Current Planning office, Room 1821, City County Building, from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM Monday through Friday. If you have questions on how to obtain forms, how to complete the materials required to file the petition(s), fees, etc., call our main desk, or email us.

If you can print forms from your computer, our petition forms are on-line.

Docketing

After you file a land use petition, it will be reviewed for completeness, and docketed (scheduled) for an upcoming hearing. Typically, the hearing date will be set a minimum of 35 days after your filing is completed. If you have questions about the docketing of your recently filed petition, call our main desk, or email us.

If your petition has already been docketed, you should call the staff planner assigned to the petition. That information is provided to you in the Legal Notice of Public Hearing which our staff will prepare for you to pick up, after docketing.

The calendars of the Metropolitan Development Commission, Hearing Examiner, Hearing Officer, Boards of Zoning Appeals, and Plat Committee are available online.

Development of Staff Recommendations

After the docketing of a land use petition, it is assigned to a staff planner. The staff planner works with other city staff, the petitioner, neighborhood groups, and remonstrators, until the public hearing process is completed.

Approximately seven days prior to the public hearing, the planner will publish a staff report, with staff's recommendations for approval, denial, or for other action to be taken.

The staff recommendation is not a decision, but is rendered to assist the relevant Board , Commission, or Committee in making a decision on the request.

If you have questions about how the staff recommendation is determined, call the staff planner assigned to the petition. You may also call the Township Administrator. That information is provided to you in the Legal Notice of Public Hearing which you have received.

Recording of Statement of Commitments

The Statement of Commitments is a document which may be filed with land use petitions, which states commitments, which have been agreed to, and are enforceable, for the land which is, or has been, the subject of a land use petition. Most often, commitments are filed with rezoning petitions, and approval petitions, but they can be filed with any type of land use petition.

After the public hearing, the Secretary of the Metropolitan Development Commission will record this document with the Marion County Recorder's Office.

If you have questions about how to specify commitments with your land use petition, call the staff planner assigned to the petition. That information is provided to you in the Legal Notice of Public Hearing which you have received.

Approval Letters and Letters of Grant (Disposition Letters)

After the public hearing, a disposition letter verifying the final outcome (e.g., approval, or denial) of the land use petition will be mailed to the petitioner. The letter is mailed by the respective commission, board, or committee secretary.

If you have not received, or have questions about, your disposition letter, call our main desk, or email us.

Recording of Declaratory Resolutions

The Declaratory Resolution is the legal document for a vacation petition, which specifies and describes the property being vacated. This document is recorded by the Plat Committee Secretary, at the Marion County Recorder's Office, after the vacation petition has been heard and approved by the plat committee.

Site plans, landscape plans, and other items may be required by the MDC, BZA, or committee acting on a land use petition. Often these items are made subject to Administrator's Approval. Minor changes for site plans, landscape plans, or other items, which are substantially in compliance with the decision for the land use petition can be administratively approved by the planning staff.

If you have questions about Administrator's Approval, call our main desk, or email us. Please have as much information as possible available, including the case number, for your land use petition.